Sports Card after 1945
1951 A New Rookie with the Yankees
2018 SOLD for $ 750K including premium
At the dawn of his career Mickey Mantle alternates between feats and discouragement. His legs are fragile. When he was a teenager a kick in his left shin left an infection of the ankle with after-effects and prevented his incorporation into the army in 1949.
Yet when he is at the top he is the fastest and most powerful new promise in baseball. Early in 1951 the New York Yankees manager Casey Stengel considers that the boy must play the season in Major League. The uniform number 6 is attributed to him for stating that this rookie will be the successor to Ruth (3), Gehrig (4) and the then current star DiMaggio (5).
The 1951-253 Bowman card is prepared after the spring training during which Mickey has confirmed his skills. Like all cards in this series the image was a colored drawing copied from a photograph. The future champion is in profile, his smiling face turned towards the photographer and his bat held over the right shoulder. Aesthetics is not a must in these Bowman series : a useless electric pole has not been cancelled.
Bowman cards are rare in Mint condition, mostly because of some centering defect or original stain. Only one 1951-253 was graded Gem Mint-10 by PSA. One of the nine Mint-9 graded copies was sold for $ 590K including premium by Memory Lane on October 14, 2017. It will be sold by Heritage online from Dallas on April 19, lot 80449 with a $ 1M value guide. This very clean card is perfectly centered 50/50 side to side.
The season is not successful. Mickey debuts in Major League on April 17 but is not convincing. Downgraded to Minor League in Kansas City he requires once again to stop baseball but is being bullied by his father. He comes back with the Yankees but returns the number 6 to Bobby Brown. He is then wounded in the right knee with a permanent torsion of a ligament during a fall in full action to avoid hurting DiMaggio. 1951 is indeed his rookie year in MLB but 1952 will be the actual trigger of his fame.
What beats everything in this story is the fact that this guy whose exploits will be a major element of the American Dream of the 1950s is confirmed as physically unfit for the army in 1952 during the Korean War.
Yet when he is at the top he is the fastest and most powerful new promise in baseball. Early in 1951 the New York Yankees manager Casey Stengel considers that the boy must play the season in Major League. The uniform number 6 is attributed to him for stating that this rookie will be the successor to Ruth (3), Gehrig (4) and the then current star DiMaggio (5).
The 1951-253 Bowman card is prepared after the spring training during which Mickey has confirmed his skills. Like all cards in this series the image was a colored drawing copied from a photograph. The future champion is in profile, his smiling face turned towards the photographer and his bat held over the right shoulder. Aesthetics is not a must in these Bowman series : a useless electric pole has not been cancelled.
Bowman cards are rare in Mint condition, mostly because of some centering defect or original stain. Only one 1951-253 was graded Gem Mint-10 by PSA. One of the nine Mint-9 graded copies was sold for $ 590K including premium by Memory Lane on October 14, 2017. It will be sold by Heritage online from Dallas on April 19, lot 80449 with a $ 1M value guide. This very clean card is perfectly centered 50/50 side to side.
The season is not successful. Mickey debuts in Major League on April 17 but is not convincing. Downgraded to Minor League in Kansas City he requires once again to stop baseball but is being bullied by his father. He comes back with the Yankees but returns the number 6 to Bobby Brown. He is then wounded in the right knee with a permanent torsion of a ligament during a fall in full action to avoid hurting DiMaggio. 1951 is indeed his rookie year in MLB but 1952 will be the actual trigger of his fame.
What beats everything in this story is the fact that this guy whose exploits will be a major element of the American Dream of the 1950s is confirmed as physically unfit for the army in 1952 during the Korean War.
1952 Fame for Topps and Mantle
2018 SOLD for $ 2.9M including premium
1952 starts very well for Topps and quite bad for Mickey Mantle.
The New York Yankees' great prospect, highlighted in early 1951 as Joe DiMaggio's designated successor, had finally made a dull season. After being downgraded to the Minor League, he returned to the Major League but suffered a severe injury to his right knee in an action with DiMaggio.
His father who was also his mentor dies on May 7, 1952 at the age of 40 of a blood disease. It was not known at the time that his illness was lead poisoning developed when mining. The young Mickey who is psychologically fragile believes in a hereditary curse. On July 8 Mickey is selected for the All-Star Game as an outfielder but left in reserve.
At the instigation of Sy Berger the bubble gum brand Topps makes a sensational entry into the edition of baseball cards. After a first trial in 1951, Topps launches in 1952 an extensive series with sharp pictures, pretty colors and a pleasantly didactic inscription on the back.
The printing of the 1952 series is made in several batches including the gradual selection of additional players. Mantle's omission in the first 310 players is probably due to his poor start of the season. When he becomes the first of the final 311-407, it is too late. The 1952 season is already well underway and Topps is slowing down the distribution to prepare for 1953 with suitably updated information.
An excellent participation at the beginning of October in the World Series launches the career of Mickey Mantle in a sustainable way. Although 1952 is not his rookie year, the rare Topps 1952-311 will become the most desirable of the modern baseball cards.
At the top of the scale PSA ranked three cards as Gem Mint 10 and six as Mint 9. None has been auctioned for more than a decade. One of the Mint 9 is estimated $ 3.5M by Heritage online from Dallas on April 19 plus extended bidding, lot 80477. With its bright colors and excellent centering this card excites the experts. The reason why it did not obtain the Gem Mint 10 grade is not revealed in the catalog.
Please watch the video shared by Heritage.
The New York Yankees' great prospect, highlighted in early 1951 as Joe DiMaggio's designated successor, had finally made a dull season. After being downgraded to the Minor League, he returned to the Major League but suffered a severe injury to his right knee in an action with DiMaggio.
His father who was also his mentor dies on May 7, 1952 at the age of 40 of a blood disease. It was not known at the time that his illness was lead poisoning developed when mining. The young Mickey who is psychologically fragile believes in a hereditary curse. On July 8 Mickey is selected for the All-Star Game as an outfielder but left in reserve.
At the instigation of Sy Berger the bubble gum brand Topps makes a sensational entry into the edition of baseball cards. After a first trial in 1951, Topps launches in 1952 an extensive series with sharp pictures, pretty colors and a pleasantly didactic inscription on the back.
The printing of the 1952 series is made in several batches including the gradual selection of additional players. Mantle's omission in the first 310 players is probably due to his poor start of the season. When he becomes the first of the final 311-407, it is too late. The 1952 season is already well underway and Topps is slowing down the distribution to prepare for 1953 with suitably updated information.
An excellent participation at the beginning of October in the World Series launches the career of Mickey Mantle in a sustainable way. Although 1952 is not his rookie year, the rare Topps 1952-311 will become the most desirable of the modern baseball cards.
At the top of the scale PSA ranked three cards as Gem Mint 10 and six as Mint 9. None has been auctioned for more than a decade. One of the Mint 9 is estimated $ 3.5M by Heritage online from Dallas on April 19 plus extended bidding, lot 80477. With its bright colors and excellent centering this card excites the experts. The reason why it did not obtain the Gem Mint 10 grade is not revealed in the catalog.
Please watch the video shared by Heritage.
1952 The Topps Card 1952-311
2016 SOLD for $ 1.13M including premium
2019 SOLD for $ 765K including premium
PRE 2019 SALE DISCUSSION
14 examples of the 1952 Topps baseball card # 311 have been graded NM-MT 8.5 + or better by PSA. One of them was sold for $ 1.13M including premium by Heritage on November 17, 2016, lot 50786. The same copy is now estimated $ 800K in the online sale ending on December 5 by Heritage, lot 51027.
I narrated it as follows in 2016 (2019 data included) :
The first part of the series of baseball cards published by Topps in 1952, numbers 1 to 310, inaugurated the modern style with a colorful and pleasant image and a good information on the back about the player.
Topps wanted to keep going but their extension of the 1952 series, numbers 311 to 407, was not released on suitable time. Their informations concerning the records of the players being already obsolete, the distribution was limited and the cards that remained unsold in the stock of the publisher were destroyed in mass a few years later.
The first card of this second part, bearing the number 311, maintains a high excitement in the hobby. It is not the earliest baseball card of Mickey Mantle but it may be considered as his rookie card.
Mickey Mantle is that young player who was iconic of the postwar American dream. Owning a high grade 1952-311 card is currently recommended as a strong investment. The date of this edition is not so old and our grandfathers are feverishly searching into the shoeboxes of their youth. The population of PSA graded cards is growing significantly : 1,225 in December 2015, 1,392 in October 2016 (and approaching 1,600 in 2019).
The top of the scale is occupied by 3 cards graded Gem Mint 10 and 6 graded Mint 9 (these figures are still valid in 2019).
The copy for sale has beautiful colors and a remarkable lack of wear. It was brought by a visitor at the Heritage booth in a trade fair in August, 2016 and was immediately appraised by PSA. It is graded NM-MT+ 8.5.
14 examples of the 1952 Topps baseball card # 311 have been graded NM-MT 8.5 + or better by PSA. One of them was sold for $ 1.13M including premium by Heritage on November 17, 2016, lot 50786. The same copy is now estimated $ 800K in the online sale ending on December 5 by Heritage, lot 51027.
I narrated it as follows in 2016 (2019 data included) :
The first part of the series of baseball cards published by Topps in 1952, numbers 1 to 310, inaugurated the modern style with a colorful and pleasant image and a good information on the back about the player.
Topps wanted to keep going but their extension of the 1952 series, numbers 311 to 407, was not released on suitable time. Their informations concerning the records of the players being already obsolete, the distribution was limited and the cards that remained unsold in the stock of the publisher were destroyed in mass a few years later.
The first card of this second part, bearing the number 311, maintains a high excitement in the hobby. It is not the earliest baseball card of Mickey Mantle but it may be considered as his rookie card.
Mickey Mantle is that young player who was iconic of the postwar American dream. Owning a high grade 1952-311 card is currently recommended as a strong investment. The date of this edition is not so old and our grandfathers are feverishly searching into the shoeboxes of their youth. The population of PSA graded cards is growing significantly : 1,225 in December 2015, 1,392 in October 2016 (and approaching 1,600 in 2019).
The top of the scale is occupied by 3 cards graded Gem Mint 10 and 6 graded Mint 9 (these figures are still valid in 2019).
The copy for sale has beautiful colors and a remarkable lack of wear. It was brought by a visitor at the Heritage booth in a trade fair in August, 2016 and was immediately appraised by PSA. It is graded NM-MT+ 8.5.
1952 The Mantle Boom
2016 SOLD for $ 500K including premium
The Mickey Mantle card in the 1952 Topps series becomes an icon for the collectors at the same level as the Inverted Jenny error, the first Superman or the Wagner T206 card. This newcomer to the pantheon of American dream had undeniably many assets.
The 1952 Topps is the first modern series of baseball cards, with a striking iconography on front side and relevant information on the back of the card. The end of this series, from the number 311 showing Mantle, is rare due to its late printing date that did dot match the sporting season. The total population validated by PSA was 1225 units in December 2015.
Born in the same year as James Dean, Mickey Mantle joined the team of the New York Yankees in the previous year and appeared as the successor to Joe DiMaggio who had just retired. His career will meet such promises.
Collectors are struggling to find the best possible card. In a previous post, I had retrieved that three Topps 1952-311 had been graded Gem Mint 10 by PSA. To my knowledge, the last offering of one of them at auction happened in June 2001. The result recorded by Superior Sports Auction, $ 275K, was astonishing in its time.
Interest is growing and prices are soaring, particularly for cards graded Near Mint - Mint 8 by PSA. I had discussed two of them in July 2015, sold for $ 380K including premium by Heritage and $ 400K including premium by Goldin. Such a rating is already outdated. Another 1952-311 NM-MT 8 was sold for $ 486K by PWCC Auctions on eBay in November 2015, soon exceeded by another unit that sold for $ 525K including premium at Heritage on December 10.
The grading by PSA is not sufficient to compare these examples in terms of visual effect and centering. Heritage announced that the 1952-311 NM-MT 8 for sale by them in New York on February 20 is the best that they ever encountered in its grade. It is estimated $ 400K, lot 80015.
The 1952 Topps is the first modern series of baseball cards, with a striking iconography on front side and relevant information on the back of the card. The end of this series, from the number 311 showing Mantle, is rare due to its late printing date that did dot match the sporting season. The total population validated by PSA was 1225 units in December 2015.
Born in the same year as James Dean, Mickey Mantle joined the team of the New York Yankees in the previous year and appeared as the successor to Joe DiMaggio who had just retired. His career will meet such promises.
Collectors are struggling to find the best possible card. In a previous post, I had retrieved that three Topps 1952-311 had been graded Gem Mint 10 by PSA. To my knowledge, the last offering of one of them at auction happened in June 2001. The result recorded by Superior Sports Auction, $ 275K, was astonishing in its time.
Interest is growing and prices are soaring, particularly for cards graded Near Mint - Mint 8 by PSA. I had discussed two of them in July 2015, sold for $ 380K including premium by Heritage and $ 400K including premium by Goldin. Such a rating is already outdated. Another 1952-311 NM-MT 8 was sold for $ 486K by PWCC Auctions on eBay in November 2015, soon exceeded by another unit that sold for $ 525K including premium at Heritage on December 10.
The grading by PSA is not sufficient to compare these examples in terms of visual effect and centering. Heritage announced that the 1952-311 NM-MT 8 for sale by them in New York on February 20 is the best that they ever encountered in its grade. It is estimated $ 400K, lot 80015.
1952 Baseball Cards with the Bubble Gum
2017 SOLD for $ 410K including premium
The value of the top graded Mickey Mantle baseball cards from the 1952 Topps series started an unprecedented rise in 2015. A card graded NM-MT+ 8.5 by PSA was to fetch $ 1.13M including premium at Heritage on November 17, 2016.
Before that auction feat other examples had been discussed in this column. One of them graded NM-MT 8 by PSA and also described as perfectly centered was sold for $ 400K including premium by Goldin on July 31, 2015, lot 52.
This card is now offered as lot 80676 with a guide value of $ 500K by Heritage in Dallas in an online auction whose extended bidding phase starts on November 16.
Its 2015 sale had been an opportunity to narrate the 1952 Topps Mantle cards as follows :
The bubble gum brands recuperated the traditional business of tobacco manufacturers to edit sports cards. After war Gum Inc. from then known as Bowman is the leader in this market. His rival Topps will however win the game from its first year of card production in 1952.
The Topps cards are innovative by their enlarged size 7 x 9.5 cm, the detailed information on the back about the player's records, the careful or smiling but always powerful attitude of the champion, and beautiful colors.
Mickey Mantle played his first Major League game with the New York Yankees in April 1951. He will make his entire career in this prestigious team. Aged 20, he has promising qualities that will make him one of the best post war baseball players. His ambidextrous hits are remarkable : he holds the bat in the right hand against left-handed pitchers and switches to left hand against right-handers.
The first baseball card of Mickey Mantle is the number 253 of the 1951 Bowman series, but it is the number 311 of the 1952 Topps set which will become the most prestigious in the hobby of post war baseball cards.
311 is the lowest number in the second part of this Topps edition but it has no reason to be rarer than the higher numbers. PSA has graded more than 1000 copies. The picture is especially appealing with the dynamic behavior of the player and the sunlight on the face protected by the cap. Copies in excellent condition have brilliant colors that make it one of the masterpieces of the genre.
Before that auction feat other examples had been discussed in this column. One of them graded NM-MT 8 by PSA and also described as perfectly centered was sold for $ 400K including premium by Goldin on July 31, 2015, lot 52.
This card is now offered as lot 80676 with a guide value of $ 500K by Heritage in Dallas in an online auction whose extended bidding phase starts on November 16.
Its 2015 sale had been an opportunity to narrate the 1952 Topps Mantle cards as follows :
The bubble gum brands recuperated the traditional business of tobacco manufacturers to edit sports cards. After war Gum Inc. from then known as Bowman is the leader in this market. His rival Topps will however win the game from its first year of card production in 1952.
The Topps cards are innovative by their enlarged size 7 x 9.5 cm, the detailed information on the back about the player's records, the careful or smiling but always powerful attitude of the champion, and beautiful colors.
Mickey Mantle played his first Major League game with the New York Yankees in April 1951. He will make his entire career in this prestigious team. Aged 20, he has promising qualities that will make him one of the best post war baseball players. His ambidextrous hits are remarkable : he holds the bat in the right hand against left-handed pitchers and switches to left hand against right-handers.
The first baseball card of Mickey Mantle is the number 253 of the 1951 Bowman series, but it is the number 311 of the 1952 Topps set which will become the most prestigious in the hobby of post war baseball cards.
311 is the lowest number in the second part of this Topps edition but it has no reason to be rarer than the higher numbers. PSA has graded more than 1000 copies. The picture is especially appealing with the dynamic behavior of the player and the sunlight on the face protected by the cap. Copies in excellent condition have brilliant colors that make it one of the masterpieces of the genre.
1955 The Superhero of Baseball
2016 SOLD for $ 480K including premium
In 1952, Topps develops the modern baseball card with a clear and pleasant image and a detailed information on the back side. Further improvement comes in 1955 when the card goes in landscape format, superseding the portrait format which was practiced from the origins and enabling to dispose altogether the player's portrait, his image in action, his signature and the logo of the club.
1955 was the rookie year of two baseball stars, Roberto Clemente and Sandy Koufax. Clemente had just been hired by the Pittsburgh Pirates when he was honored with the Topps 1955-164 card. The Pirates were only the fifth team to break the barrier of color in the National League and the arrival of Clemente, Black and Puerto Rican, was likely to be contested.
The Topps 1955-164 card is extremely rare in very good condition because many copies are not well centered. Only one of them is graded Gem Mint 10 by PSA, meaning a perfect condition in every respect. It was sold for $ 430K including premium by SCP Auctions on May 20, 2012.
A card graded Mint 9 by PSA was sold for $ 310K including premium by Heritage on July 30, 2015. Another unit in the same grade will be sold by Heritage on February 20 in New York,lot 80113.
Roberto Clemente never reached the age of retiring from baseball. He was a hero to such a point that his friends asked for his canonization to Pope Francis.
He devoted his off-seasons to charity. In December 1972 he participated in sending emergency relief after the Managua earthquake. Fearing that his act was diverted by the Nicaraguan dictatorship, he accompanied the delivery. His plane, possibly too much loaded, disappeared at sea and his body was never found.
1955 was the rookie year of two baseball stars, Roberto Clemente and Sandy Koufax. Clemente had just been hired by the Pittsburgh Pirates when he was honored with the Topps 1955-164 card. The Pirates were only the fifth team to break the barrier of color in the National League and the arrival of Clemente, Black and Puerto Rican, was likely to be contested.
The Topps 1955-164 card is extremely rare in very good condition because many copies are not well centered. Only one of them is graded Gem Mint 10 by PSA, meaning a perfect condition in every respect. It was sold for $ 430K including premium by SCP Auctions on May 20, 2012.
A card graded Mint 9 by PSA was sold for $ 310K including premium by Heritage on July 30, 2015. Another unit in the same grade will be sold by Heritage on February 20 in New York,lot 80113.
Roberto Clemente never reached the age of retiring from baseball. He was a hero to such a point that his friends asked for his canonization to Pope Francis.
He devoted his off-seasons to charity. In December 1972 he participated in sending emergency relief after the Managua earthquake. Fearing that his act was diverted by the Nicaraguan dictatorship, he accompanied the delivery. His plane, possibly too much loaded, disappeared at sea and his body was never found.
1963 A Great Future for the Rookies
2016 SOLD for $ 720K including premium
The preference of the collectors for rookie cards in mint condition is not new. This hobby is however changing to unprecedented heights. The severity of the PSA grading standard leads to sort for each card even recent a very small population whose condition is above all others.
The example of the rookie card of Wayne Gretzky in ice hockey is instructive. This card was published with the same front side with a reverse in English by Topps and bilingual by O-Pee-Chee in the same year (1979). The difference may seem insignificant but it is not. The only bilingual example graded Gem Mint 10 by PSA was sold for $ 465K including premium by Goldin on August 4, 2016. Two Topps are known in the same grade. One of them was sold for $ 200K by Memory Lane 16 days later, on August 20, 2016.
At such a level of scarcity in perfection, it is nevertheless also required that the player is famous.
In the 1960s, Pete Rose and Nolan Ryan are young baseball champions. At that time Topps is editing some cards specially assigned to rookie stars by gathering several players. For Rose in 1963 and Ryan in 1968, only one piece has been graded Gem Mint 10 by PSA. Both cards are for sale by Heritage in Dallas on August 27, each one with an estimate of $ 400K, lot 80022 for Rose and lot 80026 for Ryan.
The aesthetic quality of the card is obviously a minor concern in the hobby. The four heads with caps from 1963 provide no sporting information and the two 1968 players are waiting for an unidentified action. The other fellows beside these two stars do not generate any comment in the Heritage catalog.
RESULTS INCLUDING PREMIUM :
1963 with Pete Rose : $ 720K
1968 with Nolan Ryan : $ 610K
The example of the rookie card of Wayne Gretzky in ice hockey is instructive. This card was published with the same front side with a reverse in English by Topps and bilingual by O-Pee-Chee in the same year (1979). The difference may seem insignificant but it is not. The only bilingual example graded Gem Mint 10 by PSA was sold for $ 465K including premium by Goldin on August 4, 2016. Two Topps are known in the same grade. One of them was sold for $ 200K by Memory Lane 16 days later, on August 20, 2016.
At such a level of scarcity in perfection, it is nevertheless also required that the player is famous.
In the 1960s, Pete Rose and Nolan Ryan are young baseball champions. At that time Topps is editing some cards specially assigned to rookie stars by gathering several players. For Rose in 1963 and Ryan in 1968, only one piece has been graded Gem Mint 10 by PSA. Both cards are for sale by Heritage in Dallas on August 27, each one with an estimate of $ 400K, lot 80022 for Rose and lot 80026 for Ryan.
The aesthetic quality of the card is obviously a minor concern in the hobby. The four heads with caps from 1963 provide no sporting information and the two 1968 players are waiting for an unidentified action. The other fellows beside these two stars do not generate any comment in the Heritage catalog.
RESULTS INCLUDING PREMIUM :
1963 with Pete Rose : $ 720K
1968 with Nolan Ryan : $ 610K
1969 Reminding Lew Alcindor
2016 SOLD for $ 500K including premium
The name of Lew Alcindor quickly disappeared from basketball history : like Cassius Clay, he islamized it. Having become Kareem Abdul-Jabbar at the end of the 1970-1971 season, he is the best scorer in the National Basketball Association (NBA) with no less than 38,387 points in twenty seasons, from 1969 to 1989.
From his college career, a team that employs Lew becomes a winner. He adds to his towering height, 2.18 m, an impeccable technique, extending an arm for the shot while outstretching the other arm to counter the defenders. He deserves a reputation of invincibility but suffered the hard game of his competitors jealous of his easiness and success.
Lew signs his first NBA contract in 1969 with the Milwaukee Bucks whose performance in the previous season had been particularly poor. Lew leads the Bucks to victory. He is elected Rookie of the Year in the NBA for the 1969-1970 season and Most Valuable Player for no less than six of the ten next seasons.
Topps publishes in 1969 the rookie card of Lew Alcindor including on the reverse a comment that is already extremely positive : "Lew came to the NBA with the most impressive set of credentials in history".
This 1969-25 card is a headache for collectors. The player is shown in an oval on a white background that is conducive to reveal stains and wear. Only one perfect copy is known, graded Gem Mint 10 by PSA. This exceptional example is listed by Heritage in Dallas on August 27 with a guide value of $ 400K, lot 80077.
From his college career, a team that employs Lew becomes a winner. He adds to his towering height, 2.18 m, an impeccable technique, extending an arm for the shot while outstretching the other arm to counter the defenders. He deserves a reputation of invincibility but suffered the hard game of his competitors jealous of his easiness and success.
Lew signs his first NBA contract in 1969 with the Milwaukee Bucks whose performance in the previous season had been particularly poor. Lew leads the Bucks to victory. He is elected Rookie of the Year in the NBA for the 1969-1970 season and Most Valuable Player for no less than six of the ten next seasons.
Topps publishes in 1969 the rookie card of Lew Alcindor including on the reverse a comment that is already extremely positive : "Lew came to the NBA with the most impressive set of credentials in history".
This 1969-25 card is a headache for collectors. The player is shown in an oval on a white background that is conducive to reveal stains and wear. Only one perfect copy is known, graded Gem Mint 10 by PSA. This exceptional example is listed by Heritage in Dallas on August 27 with a guide value of $ 400K, lot 80077.
1979 The Best Prospect in Edmonton
2016 SOLD for $ 465K including premium
The career of Wayne Gretzky is an example for any purpose. Child prodigy of the sport, he later played for twenty seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) and had the unprecedented honor of being indicted to the Hockey Hall of Fame in the very year when he retired playing in 1999.
Born in Ontario, Gretzky learned to skate on ice at the age of two years and ten months. He also participated in early hockey games with older boys and early demonstrated his skill and his intelligence of the game.
His vocation is assured: he will become a professional. At that time the World Hockey Association (WHA) is a competitor to the NHL. Unlike the NHL, the WHA does not require a minimum age for its players. Gretzky signed in June 1978 a first contract with a WHA club, the Indianapolis Racers. This club close to bankruptcy transfers the young player to the Edmonton Oilers. A ten-year contract is signed in January 1979.
Gretzky meets all his promises as an outstanding player in the 1978-1979 season which is the latest of the WHA. The Oilers are then admitted to the NHL, enabling him to become a NHL professional before reaching the legal age required by this league.
Editors of sports cards are willing to highlight future stars. The market leader for ice hockey cards is a coordinated operation between two industrialists of the gum: the American Topps publishes cards with an English back and the Canadian O-Pee-Chee the same cards with a bilingual back.
The card number 18 prepared for the 1979-1980 season is the first to show Wayne Gretzky, with the sporting records of his first professional year. It announces Wayne as the best professional prospect since Guy Lafleur. It is not rare but only one O-Pee-Chee copy has been graded GEM MT10 by PSA, meaning a perfect condition of color printing, centering and cutting, without any defect.
The perfect card honoring the rookie year of the most impeccable ice hockey player was sold for $ 94K including premium by SCP Auctions on May 1, 2011. The enthusiasm of cartophiles for various sports is growing. It is now estimated $ 400K for sale by Goldin in Atlantic City on August 4, lot 25.
Born in Ontario, Gretzky learned to skate on ice at the age of two years and ten months. He also participated in early hockey games with older boys and early demonstrated his skill and his intelligence of the game.
His vocation is assured: he will become a professional. At that time the World Hockey Association (WHA) is a competitor to the NHL. Unlike the NHL, the WHA does not require a minimum age for its players. Gretzky signed in June 1978 a first contract with a WHA club, the Indianapolis Racers. This club close to bankruptcy transfers the young player to the Edmonton Oilers. A ten-year contract is signed in January 1979.
Gretzky meets all his promises as an outstanding player in the 1978-1979 season which is the latest of the WHA. The Oilers are then admitted to the NHL, enabling him to become a NHL professional before reaching the legal age required by this league.
Editors of sports cards are willing to highlight future stars. The market leader for ice hockey cards is a coordinated operation between two industrialists of the gum: the American Topps publishes cards with an English back and the Canadian O-Pee-Chee the same cards with a bilingual back.
The card number 18 prepared for the 1979-1980 season is the first to show Wayne Gretzky, with the sporting records of his first professional year. It announces Wayne as the best professional prospect since Guy Lafleur. It is not rare but only one O-Pee-Chee copy has been graded GEM MT10 by PSA, meaning a perfect condition of color printing, centering and cutting, without any defect.
The perfect card honoring the rookie year of the most impeccable ice hockey player was sold for $ 94K including premium by SCP Auctions on May 1, 2011. The enthusiasm of cartophiles for various sports is growing. It is now estimated $ 400K for sale by Goldin in Atlantic City on August 4, lot 25.
2009 Red Refractor for Mike Trout
2020 SOLD for $ 920K including premium
The memory of sport is no longer just an artifact of the past. The US publishers of trading cards make their items visually more appealing. Very small productions include the player's autograph signature, and sometimes a small piece of the jersey, a lock of hair and a short video. The most popular sports today are baseball and basketball.
The enthusiasm of collectors for this range of products is very recent. As with the old cards, the rookie seasons of the top players in their major leagues are especially sought after. A LeBron James rookie patch edited by the Upper Deck Company for the 2003-2004 NBA season was sold for $ 264K including premium by Goldin in October 2019.
In 1993 Topps introduced the Refractor, which is a protected designation of the brand. The player's photo is framed by a colored chrome strip. The rainbow is reached by a collector when he has the whole set of colors of the same card. Only five units of a specific model have a Red Refractor. They are serialized from 1/5 to 5/5.
They don't even wait for a promising champion to start his professional career. In 2009 the baseball player Mike Trout, 18, had just been selected as a Drafted prospect by the Los Angeles Angels. His card has been published by Topps in the Bowman Chrome series.
The Trout rookie Red Refractor card 5/5 is in near perfect condition, graded Gem Mint 9.5 by BGS (Beckett Grading) and 10 for the autograph signature, also by Beckett. It is for sale by Goldin as lot 218 in an online sale which should have been closed on May 17 but has been paused for an Internet server problem.
Mike Trout stayed with the Angels. In 2019, he signed for twelve years the most expensive contract in the history of US sport, $ 426M.
The enthusiasm of collectors for this range of products is very recent. As with the old cards, the rookie seasons of the top players in their major leagues are especially sought after. A LeBron James rookie patch edited by the Upper Deck Company for the 2003-2004 NBA season was sold for $ 264K including premium by Goldin in October 2019.
In 1993 Topps introduced the Refractor, which is a protected designation of the brand. The player's photo is framed by a colored chrome strip. The rainbow is reached by a collector when he has the whole set of colors of the same card. Only five units of a specific model have a Red Refractor. They are serialized from 1/5 to 5/5.
They don't even wait for a promising champion to start his professional career. In 2009 the baseball player Mike Trout, 18, had just been selected as a Drafted prospect by the Los Angeles Angels. His card has been published by Topps in the Bowman Chrome series.
The Trout rookie Red Refractor card 5/5 is in near perfect condition, graded Gem Mint 9.5 by BGS (Beckett Grading) and 10 for the autograph signature, also by Beckett. It is for sale by Goldin as lot 218 in an online sale which should have been closed on May 17 but has been paused for an Internet server problem.
Mike Trout stayed with the Angels. In 2019, he signed for twelve years the most expensive contract in the history of US sport, $ 426M.
